Tuesday, November 23, 2010

It's a problem



I have a friend in Texas who has poultry. She keeps geese, ducks, chickens. She is so loving with these animals. One of them got very sick last year, spent her final months napping on my friend's lap. The stories she wrote on her blog and especially her photos of the poultry are compelling, funny (because poultry is, by its very nature, kind of dorky) and beautiful.

Deborah has no problem with the cycle of life. As close as she is to those birds, she still eats meat and poultry. I don't know if she eats her own birds, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did. Her belief is that as long as we are respectful and appreciative, there's nothing wrong with being omnivores, or as Kim says "flexitarians."

Me? I'm a hypocrite. I've tried being a vegetarian but it didn't work. And though I don't eat a lot of meat, it's still a basic in my diet. I am all the better for it since my kidney jing is so weak, or so the Sufi acupuncturist tells me. But - I like a couple of layers of obliviousness between me and the reality of my food. I recoil from shrimp served with their heads still intact. When I see cows or bison, I admit, imagining eating them turns my stomach. But then the next thing you know I'm ordering a burger at the Matchbox bar.

I have trouble at Thanksgiving. The whole gigantic bird, trussed, stuffed, roasted to a golden brown, sitting in the center of the table, kind of freaks me out. Inevitably that sight brings to mind the chicken scene in the film Eraserhead. I'm sorry, I can't help it! All the jokes about turkeys making a run for it so as to survive Thanksgiving make me want to cry. And the presidential pardon of one turkey? Just. Plain. Weird.

This year I'm invited to share the feast of Thanksgiving at a friend's house who is a vegetarian, so there will be interesting options other than turkey, though of course there will be a turkey as part of the meal, sitting there, on display, in the center of the table.

T-day is about eating turkey. It is a ritual meal. I respect that, and I really enjoy the conviviality of joining with others to toast and feast, but oh, the turkey. God.

Perhaps someday I will grow up and resolve this hypocritical personal kink. Or not. Maybe this year I'll opt for a strong drink before dinner. A shot of Wild Turkey would be an ironic choice. Maybe that will help. Ya think?

16 comments:

The Bug said...

I'm just like you. And I REALLY don't like all the jokes about turkeys making a run for it - please don't personalize my food! I am not a big fan of turkey anyway - I'd rather have lasagna - ooh, eggplant lasagna, that's the ticket!

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Ha ha ha, yes wild turkey will help. I'm a vegetarian and my husband is about a 90% veg'. He eats meat a few times a month but only if he knows it's not full of hormones etc. I don't even like fish, just never have. I don't mind other people eating it, even right in front of me. I'm curious about this kidney thing. Is there a correlation between being a vegetarian and kidneys? I've had kidney stones in the past few years (since I've been a veg'). Curious.

Reya Mellicker said...

Jeanette only the Sufi acupuncturist could explain why he thinks it's good for me to eat a little bit of meat. My deficient kidney jing is probably a result of being born in the 1950's when pregnant women (including my mother of course) smoked, drank, guzzled coffee and ate terrible food. Those of us in utero didn't get what we needed in terms of basic life force.

Bug, turkey doesn't agree with me either. I'm guessing there will be some kind of lasagna at dinner Thursday. Mostly I'm going for the company. T-day is a critical mass holiday.

ellen abbott said...

dark meat for me please. You can keep the rest of it. And the whole turkey leg thing at fairs? don't get that at all. But seeing a turkey trussed on a platter on the table doesn't bother me any more than seeing a chicken or a roast or a lasagna. It's just food. I don't adhere to that whole 'I'm not eating anything with a face' thing. Just because plants don't have recognizable faces does not mean that they are not conscious and are unaware of their surroundings. Many plant foods you have to kill the plant to eat them. I agree with your Texas friend with the poultry, it's your attitude.

Reya Mellicker said...

Ellen you are absolutely right. Now - how can I convince my brainstem that it's OK??

Linda Sue said...

Yeah, I'm right there with you- The turkey monstrosity at the center is hilarious to me- I like the side dishes better. PIE!!

Joy and Phil said...

After triple bypass and valve replacement surgery with a pig valve I have had a hard time eating pork. Tiny bits of ham in my soup is okay but bacon, sausage or ham steak turns me off. Can't say why it just is ...

Reya Mellicker said...

I've never liked bacon. It smells like old dishwater to me.

Your dislike for pork makes perfect sense to me! Thinking about all of this today has be reconsidering vegetarianism, no matter what the Sufi acupuncturist says.

Reasons said...

I know exactly what you mean. I suppose it is just that we haven't been raised to deal with seeing slaughter and yet the meat can taste so good!

Tom said...

this year i vow to refrain from telling dumb-turkey jokes.

i never knew how insensitive i was being

Reya Mellicker said...

Tom you make as many jokes as you like. You work in the grocery business ... I remember the hideousness of slinging all those turkeys. Yet another reason I so dislike them!

janis said...

Reya~
Oh yes! You and I are similar! This weekend as I journeyed on a road trip, I caught sight of a beautiful flock of wild turkey. Around 5 or so just crossing a clearing near some woods. I immediately wanted to scream to them to run! Run & Hide! Have a Blessed Thanksgiving♥

Cyndy said...

This is kind of lame, but I've never really done a turkey all by myself, so I did a practice turkey on Sunday in preparation for having my family over to my house for the first time. It went well except that it made me feel like a cannibal or something washing out the inside of the bird and cutting up the carcass to make turkey stock. That's just a little too much intimate contact for me. And now I have to do it again on Thursday! And today while I was at the Amish Market picking up my whoopdeedoo fancy all-natural turkey, someone else bought two rabbits. Poor little bunnies :(

A vegetarian Thanksgiving sounds pretty good to me right now. Happy Wild Turkey Day!

Reya Mellicker said...

Poor bunnies!! May for the force be with you Cyndy!

Merle Sneed said...

I don't like the meat so much.

NanU said...

Wild Turkey would be an excellent choice.
Like you I don't eat a lot of meat, but I do require some. Tried vegetarianism because of the horrors of factory-raised animals, but just couldn't take the diet. I don't have a problem with animals that have led real, peaceful, lives, though. I think that eating recognizable animals reminds us of the gift that other being is making to us. It's a sign of respect not to deny it.